The Author (Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o)

The author is a writer based in Kenya. Although he learned both Gĩkũyũ and Swahili at home, he has spent his career writing in English. He is the author of numerous works of classic postcolonial literature, such as "The River Between" and "Weep Not, Child." The author's first novel in Gĩkũyũ, called in English Devil on the Cross, was published in 1980. After this novel, Ngũgĩ vows never to write fiction or non-fiction in English.

In this collection of essays, Ngũgĩ outlines his views on the "language question," and expounds on his own decision to stop writing in English. This decision puts him at odds with the continent's other, famous writers, such as Senghor, Achebe and Soyinka. Ngũgĩ desires to connect with the peasants and working class, and believes passionately in the possibility of world...